Around 50 cyclists of all ages geared up for the annual Russell Player Memorial Lions Fun Ride on May 25.
The ride was in aid of the Cancer Society’s Lions Lodge in Hamilton. This year was the seventh year the event has run, having paused for a few years during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was started by Lions member Russell Player, who died in 2016.
The cycle event began in four different places along the Hauraki Rail Trail: Goldfields Railway in Waihī; Placemakers in Kōpū; the Old Te Aroha Railway Station; and Karangahake Hall. Participants converged at the Railway Reserve in Paeroa for prizegiving and a sausage sizzle.
Although the turnout was much smaller than in previous years, Nancy Player said it was wonderful to see people still turning out to support Russell’s vision.
“Thank you to all the riders who have ridden and come out on this… it is a wonderful fundraising thing for the Cancer Lodge,” she said.
“Russell would be really pleased that it was still going and that some of his family members are still riding in it, because he did love organising things. He was a very community-minded Lions member.”
